The Doc was up before dawn. Near The Doc’s Room was an unusual looking Toyota Kluger, when he looked closer it had Texas numberplates. The US version of the Kluger is certainly chunkier than the Australian version.

Off to have an early breakfast near a very nice infinity pool as the sun came up.

Next stop was Cobbold Gorge itself. After travelling through the Kimberley and Pilbara The Doc has visited many gorges, but nothing like Cobbold Gorge. This gorge was formed when an earthquake ripped the earth apart. Over time it weathered into an extremely narrow gorge, what the Doc calls a Weight Watchers gorge! By narrow, The Doc means a standard tinny could not get through some parts of the gorge.

10 people each got into the 2 custom-made boats. The boats were narrow and long with an electric motor at each end (a trolling motor). Silica has leached out of the sandstone rocks forming an extremely hard but polished surface, making it very resistant to weathering.

While the gorge is not particularly long, it is unique. There is plenty of freshwater fish, including the resident freshwater crocodile.

We headed back to the camp, collected our gear, and were loaded onto the bus. We were driven back to Forsayth but the train had already left earlier in the morning. The bus drove us to Einasleigh to meet the train at lunch time.

We ate a simple lunch at the Einasleigh pub and were back onto the train. We travelled back over the rivers and waterways to Mt Surprise. We were booked into our rooms at Bedrock Village.

We had to be on the bus within 30 minutes and were taken for a tour of the Undara Lava Tubes. Gary was our guide.

‘Undara’ is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘long way’. The park protects one of the longest lava tube cave systems in the world. About 190,000 years ago, a large volcano erupted violently, spewing molten lava over the surrounding landscape. The lava flowed rapidly down a dry riverbed. The top, outer-layer cooled and formed a crust, while the molten lava below drained outwards, leaving behind a series of hollow tubes. (Department of Parks)

We visited The Archway and the nearby Stephenson’s Cave. The stairs and walkways made the whole experience enjoyable (as well as protecting the caves). The archways, colours and textures were extraordinary and the size of the caves bigger than what the pictures show. These are lava tubes so they don’t have stalagmites and stalactites like limestone caves.

Look closely and you can even see Tweety bird on the wall.

The Doc also saw 2 Mareeba Rock Wallabies darting around. Gary said it was the first time he saw them in this area and The Doc saw two! These wallabies were fast and agile across the rocks.

We travelled back to Bedrock Village for a meal that night. A simple meal well done is one of the simple pleasures of life. It was a full day and probably the highlight of the trip.